sea eagle (redirected from Haliaeetus)

sea eagle

Any of various large fish-eating eagles (especially in the genus Haliaeetus), of which the best known is the bald eagle. Sea eagles live along rivers, big lakes, and tidewater worldwide except in South America. Some reach over 3 ft (1 m) long. All have an exceptionally large, high-arched beak and bare lower legs. The toes' undersurfaces are roughened for grasping slippery prey. They eat mostly carrion but sometimes kill, snatching fish from the water surface and often robbing their chief competitor, the osprey. Asian species include the gray-headed, or greater, fishing eagle and the lesser fishing eagle.